i am cliff

Here's an excellent story about people on Gabriola Island supporting war resister Cliff Cornell.

Islanders showing support to keep resister from being deported.

Everywhere on Gabriola Island there are signs of support for U.S. war resister Cliff Cornell, who faces deportation from Canada this week.

Wearing an 'I am Cliff' button and choking back tears at a meeting Saturday, Cornell shared the story of his decision to flee to Canada in 2004.

He served in the U.S. Army for 10 months, but received orders he was being sent to Iraq, to a war he says is "illegal and immoral," fighting for his country, which he categorizes as an invader.

Three other recent war resisters – living in Victoria and Vancouver – also spoke at the meeting.

They shared similar themes – that enlisting to serve their country was a last choice in increasingly desperate economic times and that contracts they signed with the military were broken, including financial bonuses and assurances they would not be sent to combat overseas.

None were optimistic about the new Barack Obama era.

Although the new U.S. president has promised a speedy exit from the unpopular Iraq war, he will also send more troops to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In the meantime, Cornell said, "for the first time in my life I have a home, a good job and friends who have become like family here on the island."

Many Gabriolans are wearing 'I Support Cliff' buttons, contributing to a defence fund at the credit union, signing petitions and sending letters and e-mails to the federal government.

Nowhere is the outpouring of support more evident than at Village Foods, the largest employer on the Island, where Cornell has been a model employee for three years.

"Cliff is making a real contribution to the country and hasn't cost Canada a dime,' said co-owner Gary McCollum, who has 60 people on his payroll. "He is part of our team and I need him.

"Canada should be setting an example as a compassionate country by doing the right thing.' he added. "After Vietnam, history has proven us right."

Cornell’s supporters point to an Angus Reid poll indicating that more than 60 per cent of Canadians think war resisters should be allowed to stay.

Last summer, a bill was passed in the House of Commons supporting those who choose not to serve in wars that aren’t sanctioned by the UN Security Council.

But the legislation is non-binding and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have ordered the deportation of four war resisters by the end of the month.

There is a flurry of activity in courts, including from Cornell’s lawyer, who is fighting for a last minute “stay of removal” and will continue to work on his behalf if the deportation order is upheld.

On Gabriola, the message from his supporters is that Cornell should be allowed to stay in Canada, at the very least until he has exhausted all legal options, and that the government should respect majority opinion.